


Let the Sun Shine On

by dragonwings948



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Memories, Danger, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Memories, No romantic Elsanna, Post-Frozen (2013), Sisters, Song Lyrics, platonic elsanna, references to the broadway musical
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-24 20:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14961656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: A collection of short stories that take place after Frozen, all based on song lyrics from the Broadway Musical. Main focus will be on Elsa and Anna; more characters to be added.





	1. Face to Face

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly can't believe that I'm writing this; I feel like I'm in high school again because I'm once more deep inside the Frozen garbage can. 
> 
> The Broadway Musical has stoked my obsession for these characters again, and so I just had to start writing. Most of this collection won't be chronological, just random little stories I think up. 
> 
> Enjoy! :) If you have any one-shot prompts you'd like to see me write for this series, please let me know in the comments! So far I only have 4 chapters planned out.

_“And could I open up that door and finally see you face to face?”_

* * *

 

            Anna let out a loud yawn and rubbed at her eyes, hoping they would stay open long enough for her to fall into bed. The darkness of the castle didn’t help her weariness. How many times had she fallen asleep in these very halls, too exhausted to even make it back to her room?

            The thought of curling up under the window was actually really tempting.

            As Anna passed Elsa’s bedroom, she let her fingertips glide over the familiar patterns on the door. “Goodnight, Elsa,” she whispered.

            It took a few more heavy steps down the hall for her to realise that she had just fallen into the habit she had performed almost her entire life. Without even thinking, she had taken the long way to her room just to pass by Elsa’s door.

            Anna paused, her mind beginning to wake up as she started thinking. A soft click sounded behind her, then Elsa’s voice:

            “Anna?”

            Anna spun around to face her sister. Just two days ago, this would have been a dream come true. Anna would have thought she was hallucinating at the sight of Elsa stepping out into the hall.

            “You know, you don’t have to…” Elsa’s brow furrowed with worry. She cast her gaze downwards. “You don’t have to do that anymore,” she finished, her voice so soft that it barely carried across the distance between them.

            Anna stifled another yawn. “I didn’t mean to,” she said, walking towards Elsa. Suddenly, she found her words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush of explanation. “I was tired and I was going to my room but I wasn’t even thinking, I just did it because I did it every night for so many years.”

            Elsa’s eyes met hers. “You mean, you’re not scared of me?”

            “Scared of you? Of course not!”

            Elsa sighed, her expression relaxing.

            “I just forgot,” Anna emphasised, taking Elsa’s hand in hers. Her sister’s fingers were icy to the touch, a sign that Anna was beginning to realise meant that Elsa was distressed.

            “Now,” Anna continued with a smile, hoping to cheer Elsa up, “I’m going to say goodnight to you every night, in person!”

            The effect was instant as Elsa smiled in return and compressed Anna’s hand. However, a furrow appeared between her eyebrows after only a moment. “I heard you every single night,” she said softly. Anna could clearly see the raw emotion, the torture in her eyes. “I wanted nothing more than to open up the door.”

            “You did this time.” Anna stepped forward and wrapped her sister in a hug that she immediately returned. “That’s what counts.”

 


	2. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa has to plan for the future of Arendelle immediately after everything thaws, but after all she's been through, she really needs a break. Anna POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not actually going to regularly post a chapter every day (that would be awesome if I had the time!) but I wanted to go ahead and get this up since the first chapter was pretty short!

_“I’m making my world colder; how long can it survive?_

_Is everyone in danger as long as I’m alive?”_

* * *

 

It wasn’t what either of them wanted.

            Anna knew that they were both thinking the same thing, because whenever she would look at Elsa to remind herself that her sister was okay and actually _talking_ to her, Elsa was looking back at her, as if sharing her thoughts. But ironically, after being apart for so many years, it seemed like they were going to have to endure it a little longer. ‘Official business,’ or so Elsa and Kristoff had called it, was taking forever.

            This just wasn’t how she had envisioned this day.

            In all her time of loneliness, Anna had daydreamed a lot, so much so that she could pass a whole day by just creating stories in her head. But her favourite had always been one where she and Elsa would finally be friends and sisters again. They would hug and laugh and cry; Anna would show Elsa her favourite books and parts of the castle, but mostly, they would just talk. After all the silence, it was really all Anna wanted.

            But after a sudden freeze in the middle of summer, apparently things couldn’t just go back to normal. Elsa had been in and out of council meetings all day, only having enough time to flash Anna a brief smile when she exited the council chambers during a break. As the day wore on, the smile grew more and more strained and her eyelids drooped. By late afternoon, she looked so weary that Anna thought she might drop any second.

            Then it hit Anna that Elsa had powered the flurry outside, and then stopped it, and no doubt gone through lots of emotional turmoil within a very short span of time. Yet, she hadn’t even paused before jumping into official business. How was she even standing?

            As Elsa turned to go back into that cursed meeting room, Anna ran forward and grabbed her arm, tugging her back. Elsa looked down at Anna and stiffened like she was going to push her away, but after a moment she relaxed.

            “Elsa, you have to rest,” Anna told her, casting a glance out a window to see the hues of sunset painted in the sky. “You’ve been through so much, and you haven’t even gotten to take a break.”

            Elsa sighed. “I can’t, Anna. I’m fine.”

            “Anyone can see you’re not fine. Aren’t you tired?”

            Elsa’s eyes darted around, glancing at the council members passing by them. She took Anna’s arm and guided her a little further down the corridor.

            “There’s only one more meeting tonight,” Elsa explained.

            Anna noticed that Elsa hadn’t answered her question; then again, she really didn’t have to. Especially now that she was away from the council members, every inch of Elsa exuded weariness.

            “But Elsa—” Anna protested.

            Elsa cut her off, her tone a little firmer. “You don’t understand, Anna.”

            “Only because you won’t tell me what’s going on!” Unbidden tears stung at Anna’s eyes as she looked at Elsa. This wasn’t how she wanted this day to be, with them arguing, with them being apart.

            Why was this _nothing_ like she had imagined?

            “I’m just trying to—” Elsa stopped, and her eyebrows rose as she looked downward. She seemed to be reconsidering her words. “You’re right,” she said softly, looking into Anna’s eyes. “You deserve to know what’s happening.” Her gaze shifted over Anna’s shoulder for a moment. “But I only have a few minutes.”

            Elsa sighed, her shoulders slumping as she took Anna’s hand in both of hers. “The freeze… _my_ freeze…it destroyed crops, fish, and even some livestock all over the kingdom. Many of our resources are…gone.”

            Anna gasped. She had never considered the environmental consequences of the sudden cold.

            “The council meetings today have been about taking stock of what we still have and trying to put Arendelle back in order. Now we have to decide what to do next; how to feed everyone and maintain trade with other kingdoms.”

            Anna wasn’t sure what to say. By the way Elsa looked so defeated, she knew that her sister was shouldering all the blame.

            “I didn’t want to burden you with it,” Elsa finished.

            “It’s okay, Elsa, I’m glad you told me.”

            “Your Majesty?”

            Anna spun to see a council member standing by the chamber doors. He nodded at Elsa.

            “I have to go.” Elsa breezed past her, but it took only a moment for Anna to catch up.

            “I’m coming with you.”

            Elsa paused and looked over at her in surprise.

            “Well, now I know what’s going on, so I can help, right?”

            A small smile lit up Elsa’s expression, but instead of answering she took Anna’s hand and led her inside the chamber.

            The meeting was long. Lots of members of the council presented ideas on how to fix Arendelle’s plight, including Elsa. Yet, Anna got the sense that they didn’t rightfully respect their queen. As soon as she presented her plan to open up the castle kitchens and allow everyone access to meals, as well as taking responsibility to personally write letters to nearby kingdoms asking for help, every single thing that could potentially go wrong was pointed out. Elsa defended her points, but Anna watched her weaken as the night wore on and the criticisms kept coming.

            In a silent moment, Anna took it upon herself to defend her sister’s idea. “Well, I don’t see any of you coming up with anything better.”

            There were looks of incredulity shot her way, and Elsa brought a hand to her mouth to cover a smile.

            “I think that Elsa’s—I mean, the Queen’s—idea is perfect. It allows anyone to get food who needs it right now, and promises to produce more food in the future.”

            “What if none of the neighboring kingdoms are inclined to help?” an older man asked as he stroked a thick white beard. It was a question that had been asked previously but had gone unanswered.

            “Then we’ll reconsider when we get there,” Elsa added in, sitting up straighter. “We need a solution to take effect right now.”

            Miraculously, the council voted for Elsa’s idea. Anna could see the relief on her sister’s face when the meeting was finally adjourned. Elsa waited as the members filed out of the room, and so did Anna. As soon as the last council member was out, Elsa slumped back in her seat and closed her eyes.

            Anna stood and tugged on Elsa’s arm, suppressing a yawn. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

            Elsa’s eyes blinked open slowly. She nodded and allowed Anna to help her get out of her chair and onto her feet. Anna kept her arm looped through Elsa’s, afraid she might collapse.

            “Thank you,” Elsa murmured as they walked out into the corridor.

            “That was a really good plan you had back there,” Anna commented as they walked toward Elsa’s room. “I think it’ll work.”

            “But for how long?” Elsa sighed and hung her head. “It’s all my fault. My kingdom is dying, and I’m the only one to blame.” She pulled away from Anna and reached for the knob of her bedroom door.

            Anna followed her inside. “Elsa, you can’t do this to yourself.” She shut the door behind her and then turned to Elsa again, spreading her hands in a pleading gesture. “We’ll all fix this together.”

            But Elsa didn’t seem to be listening, too caught up in her own thoughts as she began ripping pins from her hair. “What if I’ve doomed Arendelle forever?” A chill suddenly sprang up in the room.

            Anna rushed forward and took Elsa’s hands in her own. It was impossible not to feel the tremor in them, or that they were like ice. She looked into her sister’s eyes and saw only one thing: terror.

            _“Elsa,”_ Anna said, trying to get her attention. Elsa focused on her, finally, and took a deep breath. “We’re going to be okay,” Anna finished, squeezing Elsa’s hands. Anna guided Elsa to a stool in front of a vanity and gently pushed her down onto it. Then, carefully, she began to extract the pins from Elsa’s carefully constructed hairdo.

            After a moment, Anna heard a sob. She paused and looked at her sister’s bowed head in the mirror. A tear dripped from her chin to her hands clasped in her lap.

            Anna knelt down and hugged Elsa tightly. Her sister promptly hugged her back, her body shuddering with more sobs. The sight of Elsa so broken moved Anna to tears as well, and soon they were both crying in each other’s arms. As time passed, Elsa pulled Anna close and rubbed her back, and Anna wondered when she’d gone from the consoler to the one being consoled. She realised that she wasn’t only crying for Elsa, but also for herself, for how much she had missed her sister for so many years, and for all she had gone through in the past few days.

            Finally, after a while, Anna pulled away from the embrace to see Elsa actually smiling at her; but somehow she understood what Elsa meant.

            “That felt good,” Anna said with a sniff and a chuckle. “I mean—I was always alone when I cried. Before. And it was so lonely, but now…”

            “It’s not lonely anymore,” Elsa finished. “All the times I cried here, in my room, I always felt worse afterwards. But this time…I feel better.” She frowned after a moment. “I’m sorry, Anna. I’m not the great queen everyone expects me to be.” She looked down at her hands. “I told myself I wouldn’t be a monster, but I’ve destroyed so much.”

            Anna looked right into her sister’s eyes. “You’re _not_ a monster. You’re a great queen who came up with an idea to help and serve her people.” She stood and plucked the last couple of pins from Elsa’s head, allowing her thick hair to spill freely down her back.

            Elsa got to her feet and hugged Anna again. “Thank you.” She paused. “I don’t know how I’ve lived without you for this long.”

            Anna hugged her tighter, and her vision became blurry with more tears. “You never have to be alone again, Elsa. I’ll always be here to help you.”

            A moment of silence passed, and then, quietly, Elsa said, “I love you, Anna.”

            Another sob forced itself from Anna’s throat at the sound of Elsa’s words.

            “And I’m sorry I haven’t told you so until now.”

            Anna swallowed past the lump in her throat, though her voice still squeaked. “That doesn’t matter now. I love you too, Elsa.”

            As Elsa pulled away from the embrace, her eyes shining with tears, she swiped her thumb across Anna’s cheek to wipe away the tears that had spilled over. “I know that today wasn’t what you wanted,” she said, as if she had read Anna’s mind. “It wasn’t exactly what I had planned either. But tomorrow, I promise, I’m devoting the entire day to you.”

            Anna’s heart soared and she grinned at the prospect of spending a whole day with her sister, but then she thought of something more important. “But Elsa, the letters to the other kingdoms—”

            Elsa waved the concern away. “I’ll have them finished before you even wake up.”

            Anna yawned at the thought of sleep. “Doubt it,” she muttered, a wave of drowsiness coming over her. “I’m an early riser…”

            Elsa chuckled and pushed her towards the door. “Goodnight, Anna.” She squeezed her hand. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

            It was still surreal to hear Elsa say it. For real. _Not_ in her imagination.

            “Goodnight, Elsa.” She turned to flash a grin at her sister. “See you tomorrow.”


	3. The Halls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa's competitive side comes out when Anna challenges her to a race and silliness ensues. Elsa POV.

_“Come on, let’s go and play…”_

* * *

 

            This had been happening more of late.

            Ever since she had reunited with Anna, Elsa had been having strong flashbacks when seeing certain people or places, even if they were things she had seen over and over again for years. And now was one of those times.

            It wasn’t a significant circumstance, really. She and Anna were walking to the dining hall for lunch, when suddenly, as they turned the corner, Elsa remembered.

 

            _“I bet I can run faster than you!”_

_Elsa grinned. Her little sister’s taunt stoked something inside of her; a competitive spirit that made her want to win._

_“End of the hall?” Elsa asked, looking over at Anna. She didn’t need to explain further. She knew that Anna understood._

_Anna nodded curtly, unable to contain her smile. She looked forward and crouched into a ready position. Elsa did the same as Anna counted down. “Three…two…one…go!”_

_Elsa shot off much faster than Anna, but she heard her sister’s footsteps close behind her on the padded carpet. However, Elsa reached the end of the hall first without a problem, almost running into the wall from her momentum. Anna reached the wall a moment later, though she didn’t slow down quite enough and there was a smack as her chin collided with the wall._

_“Anna!” Elsa forgot all about the race and reached out for Anna, whose eyes were filling with tears. Elsa summoned a tiny bit of her magic, just enough to make her skin cold, and cupped Anna’s chin in her chilly fingers. “Does that feel better?”_

_Anna just nodded and scooted into Elsa’s lap._

_“Maybe we can race again outside,” Elsa suggested. “I bet you really are faster than me when there’s not a wall in the way.”_

_Anna’s eyes brightened up immediately and she nodded. Elsa held her sister close and knew that next time, she would let Anna win._

            Elsa smiled at the memory that had gone totally forgotten until now.

            “Elsa?” Anna asked beside her. “What is it?”

            Sometimes, Elsa forgot how good Anna was at reading her already. It was incredible that though they had been separated for years, in some ways it was like they had always been together.

            “Just a memory,” Elsa said, slowing to a halt. “You were so young that you probably don’t remember, but we raced down this hallway and you hit your chin against the wall. I…I used my magic to help ease your pain.” She couldn’t believe that she had held the key to her powers in her memories all this time, but she had been too caught up in fear to realise it. “Then we raced outside, and I let you win.”

            Anna gasped in mock offense. “You _let_ me win that time? I thought I was faster than you!”

            Elsa chuckled. “You do remember!”

            “A little. It was the first time I beat you in a race.” She straightened and raised her eyebrows at Elsa. “I bet I could beat you again.”

            Elsa could read the challenge in Anna’s eyes and felt the thrill of competition run through her, just like it had all those years ago. Yet, reason quickly took over.

            “Not now, Anna.”

            Anna rolled her eyes. “Just because you’re the queen it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun!” She hiked up her skirts to her calves and smiled slyly at Elsa; a silent dare.

            After only a moment of looking into Anna’s eyes, Elsa relented. She kicked off her heels as Anna cheered, “Yes!” and then gathered the fabric of her dress in her fists so that she revealed her ankles.

            “Just be careful,” Elsa warned, remembering the last time.

            Anna just grinned. “Three…two…one…go!”

            Elsa started out much faster than Anna, though after only a few steps she couldn’t help but laugh at the silliness of it all. She pushed herself, sucking in extra gulps of air to recover from her laughter, but Anna easily overtook her halfway down the hall. Elsa almost tripped as she watched her sister go by, but she regained her balance and reached the wall several seconds behind Anna.

            Anna cheered. “Told you I was faster.”

            Elsa managed shaky laughter as she tried to take in precious air. “How about a rematch?”


End file.
